Man Arrested In Cop's Death

FLORIDA - The State - In Brief

March 29, 2005

PANAMA CITY BEACH -- A Wisconsin man, his body covered with gang-related tattoos, was arrested Monday and charged with the Easter Sunday shooting death of a police officer in this resort city, authorities said.

Sgt. Kevin Kight, 34, was shot twice shortly before 10:30 p.m. during a traffic stop along a busy street lined with beachfront hotels and condominiums crowded with spring-break visitors, Deputy Police Chief David Humphreys said. Kight died on the way to a hospital.

Investigators were interviewing several witnesses and two young men who had been with the suspect, Robert J. Bailey, 22, of Milwaukee, before the shooting.

Humphreys was unsure why Bailey was in the Florida Panhandle but said he has a criminal record and apparently is not a college student.

Kight stopped the suspect's car and checked his drivers license near the Holiday Inn SunSpree, which is popular among spring-break visitors. The officer discovered the license was invalid. When he attempted to make an arrest, the suspect pulled out a handgun and shot him, Humphreys said.